Listen
by mybrowneyes
Summary: A response to the three paragraph challenge on "Babe and Plum Family Challenges' on Facebook. Mine is a little more.
1. Chapter 1

_All belong to Janet Evanovich. I'm having fun with them._

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"Listen." Stephanie barked standing over her ex-boyfriend, "Joe, it's over between us. It has been for along time! What are you doing here?"

Joe Morelli was sitting on her old sofa. "Cupcake, I wanted to see you. I thought maybe we could work things out."

"So you let yourself into my apartment! There is nothing to work out!" Her hands were moving and Stephanie was trying to keep them from settling around the cop's throat very tightly.

"Cupcake."

"Cupcake my ass, you ass!"

Joe held up a small black box he found in the apartment. "I found this and thought you were ready to settle down with me."

Before she could say a syllable, there was a tingle and her front door closed.

"Ranger!"

Stephanie ran out the entrance door to see the tail of Ranger's black Porsche pulling out.

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"Listen," Stephanie said in a determined tone meeting Ranger's eyes as she took the seat across the table. She was nervous, too. A breath made a slight sound as she gathered her thoughts. "It's not what you thought. Joe wasn't proposing to me. He found something. It wasn't for him." Her curls were swaying as she spoke in rush.

She followed the Man of Mystery to Miami. After explaining everything the stupid cop did to Tank, he booked Stephanie on the next flight so the lovebirds could work everything out.

Stephanie stopped speaking trying to read the unreadable man staring at her.

"He got it, finally. We aren't meant to be. I bought this for you," she whispered across the table. Her lips the man across the table watched because Stephanie's voice was low and quivering.

On the tablecloth in front of Ranger, a silver ring was placed with shaking fingers.

Mocha latte fingers picked it up and his dark eyes studied the band with a gentle rolling scroll encircling the outside. In the engraving of the polished metal were the letters 'RCM' worked into design. It was a slight etching in the silver. The inner ring was inscribed with 'Love, Stephanie'. To anyone else it would appear to be a brushed finish or scratches on a worn ring, but he saw his initials patterned in the waved line and in the center of the 'C' an inset diamond.

He looked at the piece of jewelry in his palm, it was warm from Stephanie and his body heat. Her lips were in a pout as he watched her bite the inside of her lip waiting for any reaction.

His curved ever so little. "Babe, is this an engagement ring for me?" Ranger let out a low laugh.

"It's a present," Stephanie replied quickly unsure of herself more now. Ranger didn't 'do' relationships or rings as he had told her, but she and he were closer than most married couples she knew. He was her very best friend who looked out for her and Stephanie loved him. She wanted him in her life for always anyway he wanted; she didn't think he would ask her. So, when she picked it out at the jewelers, she made a promise to herself to 'pop the question' maybe. "Maybe, if you want?" she questioned hesitantly with her blue eyes not meeting the dark ones directly.

The apprehension was displayed all over the face of the one woman Ranger Manoso would love for everyday breath was in his body. All his travels he never found anyone to capture his heart, drive him bonkers like she could, and challenge Ranger before the morning turned to Noon if she was awake. It took him landing his wandering self in Trenton, New Jersey and meeting a girl from 'the Burg' for him to want to stay in one place longer than he had ever been. Once he got tired of one city, he moved on to the next office, but he wanted to stay with Stephanie. Even Edna Mazur couldn't scare him enough to stay away from 'his Babe' most of the time.

"That's a first," he smirked. Those blue globes had that 'deer in the headlights' wideness gauging his thoughts or any crack in his perfected blank face. He heard the sharp intake of Stephanie's breath when he laid something in front of her just as she did to him.

"Oh God, he's giving it back," Stephanie thought when her gaze went down to the table top expecting to see Ranger's silver ring. Right there was a diamond ring sparkling at her. The wide blue eyes met Ranger's. "That's an engagement ring!"

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"Listen," Stephanie began but her mother wasn't listening.

"Stephanie, where have you been? I called and left messages. You never called me back. I had pot roast and you never showed. Joseph was hurt you never showed."

"I was busy."

"Too busy to eat with your family?"

Ranger had enough. "We were celebrating." He held out his left hand showing his ring and Stephanie's was right next to his with her sparkling diamond and wedding band.

"Those look like wedding rings?" Helen Plum surmised.

"They are," the groom clarified for Stephanie's mother, father, and grandmother.

"W-H-A!" Helen didn't finish slipping down.

Frank caught her going down pushing a chair over. His wife was hanging over it like a rag doll. "The floor was just waxed. I wouldn't want your mother to scuff it up."

"Yahoo!" Grandma Mazur was dancing around. She stopped momentarily placing Stephanie's hand over Ranger's. "Hold it," she said snapping a picture with her cell phone. Next, she was texting. "I got to get that rock on Insta-gram."

"Let's go to the Falcon's to celebrate," Frank Plum suggested hugging his daughter and new son-in-law.

Ranger gave his wife an eyebrow. "How about Rossini's?"

"That's way better," Grandma bellowed grabbing her purse. "The girls at the beauty parlor will be jealous I was out on the town with the hottest couple in 'the Burg'."

"What about Mom?" Stephanie asked her father locking the front door as the answering machine was going off.

"She'll be fine," Grandma said waving at the house. "Helen will wake up eventually and she can get the messages."

"I'm celebrating. I won't have to listen to "Frank, that's a salad fork. Use your dinner fork. Someone will see you in public. Why me? I have a husband who can't use the proper silverware. I don't give a rat's ass about the forks. Helen's why we don't go out much. I may eat with my fingers!"

"Let me get that on Insta-gram. She'll be passed out for a week from hyperventilating. We're drinking ain't we?"

Ranger kissed Stephanie chuckling. "Babe, your family."

"Listen, you married me."


	2. Chapter 2

These are JE's and things have been rattling in my head. Merry Christmas, Lee Anne

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"Listen," Dr. Peterman said, "that's your baby's heartbeat." He was waving a wand over Stephanie's stomach.

Stephanie was looking into soft dark eyes looking into her blue eyes. Both listening intently to the "Blub, blub, blub."

"It's strong?" the Cuban Bad Ass questioned. He would be a father again, but the hearing his child's heartbeat was a first for him.

"Perfect," the obstetrician pointed to the number on the monitor.

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"Listen, I know this is not type of house we looked at, but you have to see this."

He was upset his pregnant wife was touring a house without him and actually followed her when she had disappeared without telling him crossing over into Pennsylvania. The real estate agent was hiding outside when the man with weapons around his hips came rushing through the backdoor.

Having quickly walked through the kitchen and the downstairs, Ranger wasn't overly excited by the small stucco house. Quaint was how he would describe it, but he wasn't a 'warm and fuzzy' kind of guy.

The gentle hand of Stephanie's in his did calm him walking up the staircase. She pulled him through a doorway into a cozy sitting area opening into the large master bedroom with skylights Looking out the French doors which led to the balcony, Ranger could see the blue of the Delaware River through trees.

His wife was waiting through another doorway. He blinked stepping into the master bath. There between two pedestal sinks was a stained glass window that practically went ceiling to floor.

"Babe."

Ranger never went back to Rangeman, he and Stephanie spent the remainder of the day lazily roaming the small shops, galleries, and eateries all within walking distance of their new house n New Hope. The Cayenne was filled with purchases for their new home.

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"Listen to that," Frank Plum cheered cocking an ear towards the door from his post in the maternity ward in the Lambertville hospital. "My grandson is here."

Elated voices in black were going around the hallway because Luca Francis Manoso made his long awaited entrance.

The door opened finally with a happy and relieved Ranger in blue scrubs stepping out with a bundle safe in his strong arms. "Meet your grandson, Luca."

Tear of joys were sliding down his cheeks. "Welcome to the Plum family, Luca" he whispered kissing the small blue head. "It took those Cuban genes to get me a grandson."

Beaming, the new father showed off his newly born son to his friends. Before going back into the maternity suite, Ranger had to chuckle watching his father-in-law jump up and down announcing, "I got a grandson."

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"Listen, my wife wants lights. This is our first Christmas in our house and I'm giving her lights."

Bobby, Lester, and Tank just stared with gaping mouths around the conference table as the Cuban slid a rough sketch towards Hector. It had swirling trees lining the driveway Tank recognized and taller trees under the huge Maple in the side yard. On the diagram, the tree was wrapped in lights and a manger scene was under it.

"Ranger, you have a small house," the second in command reminded him.

He was referring to the three bedroom bungalow Stephanie, Ranger, and Luca, their baby boy, moved into after they discovered she was pregnant.

"The lights are for outside. We have a big yard," he clarified walking out of the room and seconds later came back carrying a large box. "These go in the front. Stephanie saw these and fell in love with the polar bears. Frank is building the manger and figures. The lights need to be synchronized to Christmas music and order those lights, Hector, that you can program. I want the blue color to match Stephanie's eyes." He picked up a file to go to a meeting with no further explanation in true Ranger fashion.

The former gang member nodded to the form exiting, "Si." He was studying the hand drawn sketch from his boss.

Bobby and Lester were out of their chairs peaking out the door. "Who was that man?" his cousin questioned.

"Listen, that is a happy Ranger."

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"Listen, when I mentioned Christmas lights, Ranger, I thought icicle lights along the roof and balcony. This is a smaller version of the 'Great Light Fight."

An inflatable polar bear family had taken up residence in the front of their house and a light show of trees set to singing voices was going off in their side yard. The first small tree lit up then each one followed lighting up in a running fashion of colors, then all were flashing in blue to the music There were midget spiral trees lining the driveway twinkling. A large, wooden, white Nativity was nestled under a glowing star hung from a branch in the blue Maple that was lights from the trunk to the top branch.

"Babe, I gave you lights." He was standing there smiling with blanket-wrapped Luca in his arms watching the show.

"That's more than a few lights."

Shrugging, the Bad Ass watched Frank Plum's Buick and Tank's Hummer coming up the driveway gawking at the synchronized show going on in their yard he designed her his wife. "The blue matches your eyes."

"You're crazy."

Leaning into Stephanie, Ranger kissed her. "Listen to the music and enjoy the show. Next year we'll go bigger."

 **The End. Merry Christmas.**


End file.
